New York City Beer Adventure, Part 2

Beer wasn't the only adventure we were seeking in New York City, we did the Guggenheim, The Metropolitan Museum, Grand Central Station, and Chelsea Market to name a few but beer was on our minds while we went to these attractions.

On day two, we took a taxi to a tap house, The Jeffrey. It was the my favorite of all the tap houses we went to in New York. We found out about it through John Fayman, owner of Backcountry Pizza and Tap House in Boulder. It has a weird set up, with there being a bar with 20 odd taps and another bar with a barista who also is a bartender serving well or mixed drinks. I am of the mind that when I travel outside of Colorado, I like to drink the local beers or at least beers that aren't distributed there so I ordered the Everett from Hills Farmstead Brewing in Vermont. I know this brewery doesn't distribute outside of the east coast and the beer we do get here on occasion is the Dorothy, a dry-hopped pale ale. The Everett is a porter that has a chocolate, coffee, rich malty flavor and sweetness that some good porters have but with a little higher ABV at 7.5%.

Dorothy

Matt

The bartender told us of a bottle shop around the corner so we headed that way after a few beers. The store front didn't have a sign but a little board out front that had beer on it. I had to ask what the name of the place was and was told it's called Miso Hoppy.  There were 12 taps and bottle beers for sale in the coolers as well on shelves.  I had the Grimm Neon Lights again while Larry had 120 from Dogfish Head.  Matt, the bartender told us they had only been open for 15 weeks but it seemed to be a good addition to the neighborhood. I liked the atmosphere, both guys who were pouring the beers were friendly and were knowledgeable about east coast beers.  We bought some bottles to take back to CO, Founders Curmudgeon, and

Bottles we bought to take back
to Colorado.

 Later that night we went back to the City Swiggers around the corner from our air bnb.  I was tired from walking all day that I didn't drink anything there.

Day three of our New York adventure started at the Metropolitan Museum where we spent most of our day. We were tired again so stayed close, we ended up down the street from our apartment at Bondurants. We order some small plates with our beers. I had a Saison, Veldrijden from Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn. It was 7.8% which is high for a Saison but this didn't taste like it was that ABV.  It was smooth with fruity tones.

Veldrijden

On our last day in New York City we stashed our luggage at Penn Station and headed towards Time Square to Rattle N Hum west. It is situated in the back of the Holiday Inn which is where entered but it has an entrance on 39th St. I didn't like the feel of this tap house, felt like a sports bar especially with the clientele.

I miss New York City and plan to go there again next year. I know that there will be new places to write about where we had a pint at.

New York City Beer Adventure

A few weeks ago we went on a New York City adventure. It was both of our first time there and at first I was a little apprehensive about the trip. You know the stereotype about NYC, rude people, very expensive, cab drivers rip you off, etc! Yes, it’s expensive but most big cities are, it’s just a fact but all the rest wasn’t true. The NYC natives that we encountered were really helpful and nice. My daughter thinks it’s because they talk loud and can sound aggressive that they come off as rude. We took taxis everywhere and it cost less than renting a car for the weekend, less hassle finding parking, and the drivers seemed to know the city, where the fastest routes where. So all in all, it was a great trip. We found some really awesome places for beer too!

The first night we found a beer bar around the corner from where we were staying. The Supply House with 20 taps of local and national beers was what we needed after a long trip. I had a New York brewery beer from Great South Bay blood orange pale ale that was 5% and was really good. It had a great head on it with orange coming through and it had a wonderful orange flavor too. It was disappointing for my husband who is a real hop head, the bartender was pushing Lagunitas IPA but with nothing close to what he wanted he had the Lagunitas. With Lagunitas brewing in Chicago their beers were everywhere we went to have a beer. It’s like that old saying, When in Rome do as the Romans do, we wanted to have some east coast beers. The Supply House had a young crowd that Friday night and we were lucky to get two seats at the bar. The burger we ordered was really good.

The Supply House in Upper East Side.

We stopped by an Irish Pub across the street from the apartment, Ryan's Daughter. I was disappointed with the beer selection so went with a very old standby, Guinness on nitro. The staff was pleasant and the atmosphere was very old world transplanted in the city.

The next day we took the subway to Midtown to The Ginger Man. They have over 65 taps with two cask beer engines. We decided to order food which we shared, a ruben sandwich, a hotdog, and a pretzel. Over the course of lunch, I had two beers, Grimm Neon Lights, a 5.7% Saison, and Hill Farmstead Summer, a 5.2% American pale. Both of these beers were really good and hit the spot as light beers for the warm afternoon.  Larry had The Bruery white oak, a 11.5% wheat wine, he just couldn’t help himself. Even though we get this beer periodically in Colorado, it’s still a nice treat when you come across it.

We then walked a few blocks to Rattle N Hum east. This bar is what we are used to, has that old bar feel like the Falling Rock in Denver. Taking seats at the bar we proceeded to order our next round of beers.  They have 40 beers on tap, over 100 bottles, and one cask ale. I had Founders Rubaeus on nitro, it’s a raspberry ale that is really good but not as sweet as you might think.

Later that night we ventured out and found a bottle shop with 14 taps, City Swiggers. They have been open since 2011 and they sell beers from America along with European and Asian beers. I had a 12 ounce of Grimm Neon Lights and Larry had an IPA from Central Waters Brewing Co from Wisconsin.  You can get growlers of any of the beers on tap. What a cool concept, you can buy bottles of beer, get a pint, and even get a growler to go. Instead of grocery stores selling the large breweries product, it would be nice to have bottle shops open up where you can also get a pint.